Retrospective Analysis of Rock Art Studies in Tamil Nadu – (The Regional Status of a Global Phenomenon)

Elanthendral S.R.1*, Rajan K.2, Sivanantham R.2, Yathees Kumar V.P.2, Muthusankar G.3, Paranthaman S.2, and Umayal S.M.2

Rock art is a unique, major global archaeological phenomenon. Its widespread presence and dual nature of direct and indirect as evidence reveal varying differences and relativeness across different spaces and times, making its study complex and challenging for scholars. The official journey of rock art studies in India began as early as 1856, but the actual journey started only after the discovery of Bhimbetka. This provided the much-needed momentum to initiate rock art as an individual field of study within archaeology. This momentum spread across neighbouring regions, with earlier sightings and reports recalled and rock art specific explorations begun. However, the central region of the subcontinent has remained the nucleus of these early ventures. Tamil Nadu had witnessed pioneering prehistoric explorations, yet no rock art sites reported until Mallapadi was discovered in 1978 by K.V. Raman. Mallapadi provided TamilNadu with the same hope as Bhimbetka did nationwide. Since then, many sites have been added thanks to scholars, researchers, enthusiasts, and institutions, but the data remained scattered. Co-author K. Rajan made a few successful compilations, the last one covering about 75 sites. In this context, this paper provides the latest data and offers a detailed retrospection of rock art research in Tamil Nadu, assessing the past and current challenges in research and conservation. Proposing a shift to digital documentation and multidisciplinary interpretation by the authors under the project Digital Documentation of Rock Art Sites in TamilNadu to record 239 rock sites.